Project goes private

[jvandenaardweg]

Project goes private

[ianpaschal]

Awwwwww! I've still been meaning to contribute somehow.

[ianpaschal]

Keep in mind there's some good ways to monetize open source while still taking advantage of the transparency that OS provides as well as helpful contributions. I know a lot of projects that start off closed as the owner is worried about their IP and then open up once they realize OS is more valuable than closed.

[jvandenaardweg]

Thanks for your comment @ianpaschal

I currently lack the knowhow how to monetize this (Open Source) project. Because, in my mind, everybody with the source code can kinda do the same, which prohibits paying for the service, the costs, the time to make it and the maintenance etc...

I'm more looking into ways to create a business around it, instead of doing it for free or on a donation basis.

But, if you got some examples of open source projects, that also generate an income stream, let me know. Would love to know how they do it.

[ianpaschal]

Two of the more obvious ones are:

1. Pay for the binary app, not the source code. It means your very tech minded users could still fork and compile their own copy instead of paying but the vast majority of users don't do this, especially if they want to use the app on iOS.
2. Make some sort of paywalled server integration, either by way of user accounts or a protected API.

We could talk more about it, but there's a middle ground between true FOSS and closed-source. Plus with closed source, people who want to beat whatever monetization you have made will always find a way anyway.

We can talk more about it private if you like.